Son of Viceroy
by Evilevergreen
Summary: “I will raise him as my own son. Anything, just bring Twenty-four back to me. Please.” - Twenty-one.


**Son of Viceroy  
**By Evilevergreen

**Summary:** "I will raise him as my own son. Anything, just bring Twenty-four back to me. Please." - Twenty-one.

OoOoO

My name is Lazarus Quinn and this is my story. I once lived with my father, Gary, and my nanny, Maria. I lived the life of any normal little boy until I was about nine years old. That's when I discovered, something I had never known about my father. . . he was a villain.

It had been late and I was sleeping soundly in my bed when I was woken up by the house shaking and what sounded like an explosion. I jumped out of bed and called for my father as I reached the hallway. Maria came running out of her room as she was still putting on her house coat. "Come, quickly, young master," she told me and led me down the stairs.

"What about my dad?" I asked as lights flashed outside of the house.

"Your father will be fine," she told me. "I must keep you safe." She took my hand as we reached the bottom on the stairs and lead me to the study. There stood a grandfather clock located on the far wall. She opened it up and pulled on the chain. Then to my amazement, the clock slid to one side revealing a hidden staircase.

"Sir, I found them!" came a voice from behind us.

"Shit," I heard Maria curse as three costumed men entered the study. "Go down the stairs!" she told me without turning around. I took a few steps backwards as I saw her charge towards the men. She punched one in the jaw, causing him to stumble back out the door. She then kicked the other in the gut as she manage to take the gun from the remaining man.

My eyes grew wide as I saw her shot both men. The third man then came rushing back into the room. He jumped on my nanny and both of them hit the floor and hard. The gun Maria had, had fallen from her hand and slid across the floor. They struggled and rolled around for a few moments before Maria saw an opening and kicked in the balls.

She then went for the gun, but the guy didn't seem too fazed about taking one in his family jewels. He pulled out a knife and lounged towards Maria before she could reach the weapon, which was several feet away from me. He had her pinned down, his knife raised high. It was then that I took action. I grabbed the cold metal and found the trigger. A single shot ranged out in their direction. "Get off my nanny!" I screamed.

He must have let his guard down when he looked up to find me standing there, Maria used it to her advantage, and before I knew it, there was another dead body laying in front of me in the room I usually did my homework in after school.

I stood there shaking, the gun held tightly in my hand. I was scared and I didn't know what was going on. "Sweetie," Maria spoke softly. "Give me the gun." She walked slowly towards me.

"You killed them." I can still remember the warm tears that slid down my cheek.

"It was them or us," she told me. "And you did a good job." I then felt her hand on mine. "Now please, give me the gun," she asked again and I let it go before I threw my arms around her and hugged her tightly. "It's alright," she soothed as she stroked my dark hair. There was then another explosion and the house shook again. "I have to get you into the panic room."

"Number One!" I heard a familiar voice bark.

"Here Master!" Maria had replied.

A moment later, a big scary looking man entered the study. His costume was mostly black and red, his mask resembled a dragon. On one of his arms there was a yellow band with the number twenty-four on it. There was a red stain on it and I soon realized it was blood. "Is he alright?" his voice was far more gentle now and I realized I knew that voice.

"Daddy?" I ventured, but still held on tight to Maria.

"He's fine, Master Viceroy," she replied.

I then watched as he took off his mask. "Lazarus," he knelt down in front of me and I slowly let go of Maria and faced him. "Don't be afraid," he told me, but I could see fear in his own eyes. "I won't let them take you," he assured me. "I won't lose you again." He then hugged me.

"Master!" A woman came to the door, wearing a costume that looked similar to my father's. "They have called reinforcements. What are your orders?"

My father stood up and donned his mask once more. "We have to lead them away from the house," his voice was once again deep and filled with authority. A completely different tone than the one he used with me. "Call Sector Seven and the clean up crew."

The woman nodded her head and then disappeared back down the hall. He then turned to Maria. "Do not leave his side," were his instructions.

"Never," she assured him.

"Dad, what's going on?" I finally got the nerve to ask.

He put his hand my shoulder. "No time for questions, son. Do what Maria tells you." He then looked to Maria again. "If I'm not back by midday, you know the plan."

"Not back?" Those words didn't sit right with me. "What do you mean, 'not back'?" I grabbed onto him, panic filling me.

"Stop bothering your father." Maria took a hold of me and I struggled against her as my father slipped away from my grasp. "He has work to do."

Maria then lead me to the secret room underneath the study. On one side of the room, there were several beds, a table with a few chairs, a shelf filled with food, and several bags already packed and ready to go. On the other side was a huge surveillance system.

Maria sat down in front of it and booted it up. Several screens came on as she adjusted her headset. "This is Number One. Alpha Leader do you hear me?" Someone on the other end then responded. "We have a level four breach on the home front. Sector Seven has been deployed. Track their movements and provide reinforcement if or when necessary."

I sat down on the bed and watched Maria work. It was as I watched her that I realized my dad was a villain, because I was pretty sure good guys avoided killing people. What I didn't understand, at the time, was why these people were after me? And why my dad said he couldn't lose me 'again'.

I'm not sure when sleep took me, but I do remember being woken up. "Time to go, young master," she told me, no longer dressed in her night clothes, but in a black and red costume.

"Where's my dad?" I asked her.

She sighed. "I lost his signal a few hours ago," she told me truthfully. "It was probably damaged in battle," she theorized. "Go wash up. It's almost noon." She didn't seem too worried, so I figured there was nothing to be upset about as long as Maria wasn't.

After washing up and getting dress in an outfit I found in the bag that had already been packed for me, Maria showed me the escape pods. She place me inside one and made sure my restraints were secure. As she did so, I turned my head and saw a butterfly on the side. "This pod has landing coordinates already programed in. You will be taken to one of your father's allies. I'll be right behind you," she explained. "Your father will come for us there."

"What if he doesn't?" I spoke my fear.

Maria then gently smiled at me. "Your father, is the greatest man I have ever henched for. I have been in his service since he moved from henchmen to villain. There are only a handful of organizations that could take him out and believe me OSI, isn't one of them." She then closed my pod door before pushing a button that released a gas causing me to fall back to sleep.

When I woke up, the first thing I saw was a beautiful woman with long dark hair, who looked a lot like Maria. "What a precious little boy." And had a _very_ deep voice.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I'm Mrs. Dr. The Monarch," she introduced herself. "I'm a friend of your father's." She then frowned a little and whispered to herself. "Things must be bad, if he sent you here." She then turned back to me and smile. "You must be hungry. Let's go to the kitchen and get you some dinner."

I remained silent as I followed her. Before long, I was sitting at a large table, with a variety of food laid before me. As I ate, I could hear an argument going on in the next room.

"I can't believe you have the son of that traitor sitting at my dinning room table." The man sounded upset.

"Traitor?" Mrs. Dr. The Monarch responded in disbelief. "Hardly. Henching for you was Twenty-one's life. He did everything for you. And in doing so, made a list of his own enemies. It was only a matter of time, before he spread his wings and became his own villain. I would think you would be proud of him."

"I am. It's just, we had a little fight, but he was my best henchmen, he didn't have to leave like that."

"Well, he did leave you with is best proteges."

"Eighty-six and Eighty-seven?" he scoffed. "They're fools."

"Actually, they kind of remind me of Twenty-one and Twenty-four, back in the day."

"Yeah, me too, but it's not the same," he sounded sad.

"Oh, sweetie. You miss him."

"What?" his voice cracked. "Don't go talking crazy talk."

"You should come and meet his son," she suggested.

"I don't want to," it sounded as if he was pouting. There was moment of silence before he spoke again. "Fine!"

He then stepped into the room were I was. He was a tall man, think with really long eyebrows. His costume was black and yellow, with huge wings and he wore crown on his head. "You must me Lazarus. I am The Monarch. Are you enjoying your meal?" he asked me.

"Yes, sir," I said politely.

He then leaned over to his wife. "He looks nothing like Twenty-one," he whispered like I couldn't hear him.

"Behave," she whispered back.

"So my dad used to work for you?" I asked.

"Yes," he answered before taking a seat. "But it was a long time ago."

"Do you know what OSI is and why they are after me?" He looked surprised at the question.

"Sweetie," his wife spoke. "I don't think you should answer that."

"That would be wise," a voice from the other side of the room spoke.

"Dad!" I stood up and ran to him. He smiled and picked me up in his arms.

He then walked over to the other villains. "Malcolm. Shelia," he greeted them. "Thank you for watching him."

"Any time, Gary," spoke the woman who's real name I now knew was Shelia.

My father than looked to The Monarch, who turned around and walked away. My father sighed. "He's never going to forgive me, is he?" he asked Shelia.

"Give him time," she told him.

"It's been five years. How much more time does he need?" he sounded upset. "I even took the name 'Viceroy' for him. To show I was still loyal."

"I know." She placed her hand on his forearm. "It took him awhile to adjust to your absence. You know when it came to his henchmen, you were his Number One. And when he's arching, he would rather have you watching his back. Things have changed since you left. Not all of them for the better. Especially after the death of Dr. Venture and one of his boys."

I felt my father tense for a moment, but quickly relax. "If I could come back, I would," he told her. "But my son is my priority now." It was then that I saw my nanny silently step into the room. I closed my eyes and held on tightly to my father.

"I understand. Just answer me one question. Was it really you that killed Dr. Venture and burned the compound to the ground five years ago?" she asked.

My father, this Viceroy, turned and handed me to Maria. "Take him to Headquarters," she was instructed. "I'll be along shortly."

It wasn't until several years later, that I learned everything. I was a clone of my father's best friend, only known to me as Twenty-four. I was created at the Venture compound and handed over to my father to be raised as his own.

Dr. Venture was sought out by many government agencies, on the hush, to create clones for them, but there purpose for them, did not sit well with the doctor. He had originally made his lab so he wouldn't have to deal with the deaths of his accident prone sons. But when his back up clones were destroyed in a battle between The Monarch and OSI, he realized, it was time to let his boys grow up, even if that meant losing them early in their lives.

He made one last clone after that. Me, as a gift to my father, for saving one of his sons. The one named, Hank. A few years later, it was discovered that the Venture sons were clones. The government went after them with everything they had, hoping to discover through them, what technology was used to create them. This resulted in the death of one of them.

Fearing, I would soon to be discovered as a clone as well. My father went to the Venture compound, to destroy anything that could lead them to me. He hadn't known the Ventures were home, as he set a fire to the lab, which eventually made it's way to the house, burning the whole place to the ground.

Dr. Venture had been The Monarch's arch enemy and when he learned who was responsible for his death, he did not take the news well. Eventually the tension between The Monarch and his Number One Henchmen became too great, and so my father became his own villain, taking the name Master Viceroy, which is a fancy term for a representative of a monarch.

At the age of ten, I was forced to grow up and grow up fast. I learned weaponry, strategy, and how to command my father's forces. Everything he taught me, was to keep me safe. To have me live longer than the one named Twenty-four. Being a clone sometimes I can't help but to wonder, if it's me he's really trying to protect, or the memory of a fallen friend.

But then one day, after barely escaping a car bomb when I was fifteen, he looked at me strangely before a smile came to his face and somehow I knew I was all he could see. I was no longer Twenty-four in his eyes, but Lazarus, son of Master Viceroy.

**The End**

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**A/N: **I like to think that all of Twenty-one's Henchmen are women and all of them in one way or another look like Dr. Girlfriend. :D**  
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